As it stands, the Tennessee Titans are currently around a four point underdog at home to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor says the Eagles have a 61.7% chance of winning this game. It’s a Noon kickoff on FOX this Sunday between two competitive 2-1 teams dealing with a rash of injuries. But, just because the Eagles won a Super Bowl a season ago does not mean that they’re going to run through the Titans.
This should be a competitive game between two teams that are actually pretty similar.
From a pure personnel standpoint, the Titans aren’t so different than they were a season ago. They’re currently 10th in the NFL in rushing yards, but in passing, they’re 29th. That’s not so different from 2017. The Titans have moved up to 4th in the NFL in terms of points allowed on defense. It doesn’t seem like a whole hell of a lot has changed in a year’s time. That was the book on the Titans in 2017 – good run game, anemic passing offense, and great defense.
So, what’s giving them an edge this year is, in part, the coaching change. Compared to Mike Mularkey, Mike Vrabel looks much more aggressive and willing to adapt to the flow of a game. Furthermore, he has an offensive coordinator in Matt LaFleur who gets creative in putting players in a position to succeed. Dean Pees had a hell of a game on defense on Sunday. The Titans just didn’t have many coaching wins last season, but three weeks into 2018, and they’ve already had two major coaching wins.
We make fun of Mularkey a lot – I, in particular, make a ton of Terry Robiskie jokes on this site – but I honestly do think he was a good coach. He changed the culture in town after butthole Ken Whisenhunt did everything he could to turn this franchise into a perpetual loser. The Titans pieced together a hell of a run game under Mularkey, and because of his efforts, they returned to the playoffs in 2017. But, what did Mularkey in was his failure to adapt – he was stubbornly committed to ‘exotic smashmouth,’ and it made it easier to predict what the Titans were going to do. You just can’t keep banging your head against a wall until it breaks through in the NFL.
So, as long as current leadership is effectively game planning, this Titans team is going to be in games regardless of who they’re playing. The bottom line is that they didn’t have that under Mularkey.
Second, this defense seems to have taken its game to the next level. After the game Blake Bortles had against the New England Patriots, it sure felt like the Jags would be poised for another big game against the Titans. It didn’t happen. Like I said, the Titans have quietly crept up to 4th in the NFL in terms of allowing points. Jacksonville, Washington, and the Los Angeles Rams are the only teams ahead of them. They’re a top 10 secondary in terms of yards allowed. The surprise is the number of rushing yards they’ve allowed – 118.3 per game.
So, they’re allowing some yardage, but they aren’t allowing points. Through three games, it’s the defense that’s carrying this team. It’s the greatest strength for the Titans, but it’s a strength that can win this game on Sunday.
The Eagles are dealing with some big time injuries. Three of their biggest play-makers – Jay Ajayi, Alshon Jeffery, Darren Sproles – are questionable for Sunday’s game. If they miss time, the offense is not going to have a lot of firepower. Carson Wentz returned to action last week, and went 25/37 for 255 yards, a touchdown, and an interception against the Colts. So, what about this 2-1 Eagles team should make the Titans think they’re getting the 2017 Eagles? Nothing.
If you can contain the tight ends, and manufacture a couple of scores, you might be alright. So, with that said, I think the Titans actually match up pretty well against the Eagles. They have a defense than can keep Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert – play-making tight ends aren’t the concern they used to be for this team. And, they have a ground game that could help them grind out 10-14 points.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them steal another victory this week.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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